The Hindu : National : Row over wedding of temple priest

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Monday, Jun 25, 2007
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Row over wedding of temple priest

Sunny Sebastian

Followers of the Alokik sect say it is against tradition

People threaten to block mahant’s entry into temple
Local scholars back Gosvami Achutanand’s stance

JAIPUR:

JAIPUR: The marriage of the mahant (high priest) of the much-revered Baneshwar temple in Rajasthan’s tribal district of Dungarpur has sparked a row. According to some of the followers of the Alokik sect, founded by saint Mavji Maharaj in 1774 — to which the temple belongs — its traditions do not allow the heads to marry or lead a family life.

Hell broke loose in the south Rajasthan tribal belt as news of the 30-year-old Mahant Gosvami Achutanand Maharaj’s marriage, spread.

Police deployed

The authorities deployed police in Sabla town, near Baneshwar, the place of the samadhi of Mavji, on Friday following the unrest.

Hundreds of persons from over half-a-dozen communities, including tribal people, held a meeting in the town to discuss the issue. They also forced a bandh on the township. The agitated people have now threatened to block the entry of Gosvami Achutanand to the temple premises.

Gosvami Achutanand told The Hindu from Sheshpur Peeth on Saturday that the sect has had both the traditions for its heads in the past. “I followed the brahmacharya tradition so far and I have entered the family life now. I wil l continue to serve the sect with all devotion and dedication,” he said.

“It was an arranged marriage done with the consent and blessings of both the families and in the presence of devotees,” Gosvami Achutanand said. He attributed the controversy to some “misunderstanding.”

“I could not talk to them and clarify my position,” he said.

The local scholars support the mahant’s version of the past traditions of the sect, which has at least 100 centres in the Wagad (Banswara and Dungarpur) region.

The sect has an estimated 28-lakh followers spread over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

“This is a meaningless dispute,” observed Deepak Acharya, who has studied the sect’s traditions in the past. “The founder of the Baneshwar dham and the Sabla Nishkalank Peeth, Mavji Maharaj, married four times,” he said.

After the passing away of Mavji Maharaj, his son Udaianandji became the head of the sect. He died early and his wife Jan Kunwari took over as the mahant.

The fourth mahant, Shivanand, too was married, Dr. Acharya pointed out.

Says Sunderlal Sharma, a scholar who has extensively researched on Mavji and the sect: “Mavji as well as Jan Kunwari never talked about the peethadish (head of the sect) remaining unmarried. Maybe the controversy this time could have been avoided if the marriage was solemnised with the consent of the leaders of the community.”

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